In his epistle to the Ephesians, Rav Shaul (the Apostle Paul) states in the second chapter that in His death, Yeshua broke down the dividing wall of partition between Jew and Gentile in order to create in Himself "one new man." God's goal for His people is unity. It is this unity, this expression of the "one new man" being lived out that will bring about the next great wave of God's power across the earth. But what's that supposed to look like? How will we recognize it?
About 10 years ago the Lord gave me a verse from the book of Ezekiel that became the theme verse for the ministry that He is still establishing for my wife and I. The exact reference is Ezekiel 47:9, and it says this:
"And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go shall live...for they will be healed, and every thing will live wherever the river goes."
I've looked at that verse for 10 years. I've had it printed on my ministry business card for Living Rivers Ministries for years. Yet only within the last couple of days did it strike me of what a beautiful picture this verse gives us of the One New Man of Ephesians 2. You see, as the rivers begin their flow they are just that rivers (plural). The Hebrew word for this is nechalayim. It literally means "twin (or) dual rivers." As these two rivers flow together in the same direction they carry life and healing to all who are touched by their waters. But another great phenomenon is taking place that isn't as obvious with a cursory reading of that verse. As it continues to flow the rivers are no longer referred to in the plural but as a single river (the Hebrew word nachal).
This is the picture of the emergence of the One New Man in the last days. For decades Jewish and Gentile believers have flowed as two divergent and distinct streams or rivers, and not always in the same direction. But in the last several years God has been dealing with the Gentile Church concerning her Jewish roots and many Gentile believers are beginning to honor the Shabbat and the Lord's Feasts as prescribed in the Torah. We are beginning to see wonderful, new and vibrant relationships being developed between the Jewish and Gentile rivers of Messiah's body, and they are beginning to flow in the same direction. As they do that they bring life and healing to all they touch.
My wife and I have seen this dynamic at work as we've been welcomed into the community of Freedom in Christ Church in North Pole, Alaska over the past two and a half years. We have been seeing the practical outworking of the One New Man, as this Church and its leaders embrace the Jewish roots of the faith and as we respect each other without trying to change each other.
Eventually what has to happen is a convergence of the two rivers as they become one. Instead of two separate streams, we have one powerful river bringing life everywhere we go. This is God's intention for His body in the last days. This is how the last great outpouring of God's supernatural power will be poured out and displayed in the world in these last days - as these two separate rivers, Jewish and Gentile, flowing in the same direction become one mighty and powerful river - One New Man. This is what Yeshua prayed for in John 17, "That they may be one." This is what will bring the blessing and power of God to bear on His people. This will be the last great revival before Yeshua returns and it has already begun. "...everything will live wherever the river goes."
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
All Things New
Of the many ways in which God reveals Himself in the Scriptures, He reveals Himself as a God of newness. He shows Himself as delighting in renewing, restoring and creeating new things in the lives of those he loves and those who love Him. So our God is a God of newness. He is ready to bring us into new things that He has stored up for us at this season of our lives. New revelation of who He is, new provision, new hope, and new passion for Him. Everything about Him comes to us in terms of newness. He says in Revelation 21:5, "Behold, I am making all things new. and He said, Write for these words are faithful and true."
It is therefore no wonder then that the Scriptures are full of admonitions to us not to dwell on the past; nto to take prolonged trips down memory lane; not to recall and beat ourselves up for what's already been done and cannot be undone or changed; not to linger on the experiences of the past that damaged and hurt us. Those experiences are in His hands, and they are washed away through the blood of Messiah never to be remembered against us again. And He who holds our present and future in His hands knows how to redeem our past without making us wallow in it. It is these experiences that have everything to do with the "all tears" that God will wipe away from our eyes, as referred to in Revelation 21:4. If you were to look at this verse it ends with the words, "...the first things have passed away."
While the direct context of the verse is speaking about eternity with God and this life of sin and fallenness coming to an end, it also has application to our lives as believers in the present time. It lets us know that the bitter experiences of the past that we keep rehashing and keep rehearsing in our minds, keep beating ourselves up for and weeping over have passed away. Let them go! Stop resurrecting them in your mind. Stop going through life staring into the rearview mirror.
God is making all things new for YOU! He wants you to be aware of them, to perceive them (Isa. 43:14-21). So let the past go! Get your eyes off the rearview mirror and get them back on the road ahead of you. Focus on the new thing God is doing for you. Embrace and receive it, for the truth is this: your best days are ahead of you, not behind you. And that you can take to the bank because He's the One who said so!
It is therefore no wonder then that the Scriptures are full of admonitions to us not to dwell on the past; nto to take prolonged trips down memory lane; not to recall and beat ourselves up for what's already been done and cannot be undone or changed; not to linger on the experiences of the past that damaged and hurt us. Those experiences are in His hands, and they are washed away through the blood of Messiah never to be remembered against us again. And He who holds our present and future in His hands knows how to redeem our past without making us wallow in it. It is these experiences that have everything to do with the "all tears" that God will wipe away from our eyes, as referred to in Revelation 21:4. If you were to look at this verse it ends with the words, "...the first things have passed away."
While the direct context of the verse is speaking about eternity with God and this life of sin and fallenness coming to an end, it also has application to our lives as believers in the present time. It lets us know that the bitter experiences of the past that we keep rehashing and keep rehearsing in our minds, keep beating ourselves up for and weeping over have passed away. Let them go! Stop resurrecting them in your mind. Stop going through life staring into the rearview mirror.
God is making all things new for YOU! He wants you to be aware of them, to perceive them (Isa. 43:14-21). So let the past go! Get your eyes off the rearview mirror and get them back on the road ahead of you. Focus on the new thing God is doing for you. Embrace and receive it, for the truth is this: your best days are ahead of you, not behind you. And that you can take to the bank because He's the One who said so!
Friday, March 16, 2012
Always Faithful!
We are "in between" two very significant holidays on the Jewish calendar that highlight the fact that God is always faithful - Purim and Pesach (Passover). In writing to Timothy Paul says in 2 Tim. 2:13 - "If we are faithless, He [God] remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." The events of Purim and Pesach serve as timeless affirmations of this truth.
At Purim, as recorded in the book of Esther, we see how God used a Jewish young woman (Esther/Hadassah) and her Uncle (Mordecai) to bring about the deliverance of the genocide of all the Jews of ancient Persia planned by the evil Haman. Interestingly enough the book of Esther is the only book of the 66 books of the Bible that does not specifically mention God of His Name anywhere in the book. Yet the providence, protection and watchful eye of God over His covenant people is probably nowhere more obvious in the Bible than in this Megillah. Throughout history, in spite of the suffering and deaths of many Jewish people and martyrs, God has always brought about the deliverance of His people from the genocidal plans of demonic world leaders, from Haman to Hitler - and beyond - God will continue to always be faithful to deliver His people from destruction and annihilation.
At Pesach, as recorded in the book of Exodus, we see how God used Moses to keep His promise to Abraham that He would bring Abraham's descendants out of slavery in a land not their own after 400 years, and would deposit them in the land He promised to give to Abraham and His descendants. The Pesach story which recounts the emancipation of the Hebrew slaves from 400 years of Egyptian bondage through the 10 awful plagues on Egypt, the slaying of the Paschal lamb and the smearing of its blood on the posts and lintels of Jewish homes and the miracles that followed Israel through their wilderness experience, once again attests to the constant and consistent faithfulness of God to deliver His people from every form of slavery.
For those of us who are believers in Yeshua the Messiah, Pesach attests to God's faithfulness to deliver us from the power and bondage of sin, through the shedding of the blood of God's Lamb, Yeshua, and the application of His sacrificial blood to our hearts and lives. Yeshua was introduced publicly to the world at the waters of the Jordan River by John the Immerser with the words: "Look! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world!" When we observe the Passover Seder in a few weeks, we call attention that everything about the Passover is a picture of Yeshua and what He accomplished for us on the cross - from the shank bone of the lamb, to the striped and pierced Matzot - everything at the Seder table and the liturgy of the Seder itself, speaks of Yeshua.
Purim and Passover are eternal pillars of truth attesting to the fact that no matter what life may deal us, no matter what we're going through, no matter what terrible situation we may find ourselves in, God was, is and always will be faithful and true to deliver us from destruction, annihilation and sin because it is His name and reputation that is on the line. Deuteronomy 33:27 says this: "The eternal God [is your] refuge, And underneath [are] the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, 'Destroy!' " Think about it and be encouraged by it!
At Purim, as recorded in the book of Esther, we see how God used a Jewish young woman (Esther/Hadassah) and her Uncle (Mordecai) to bring about the deliverance of the genocide of all the Jews of ancient Persia planned by the evil Haman. Interestingly enough the book of Esther is the only book of the 66 books of the Bible that does not specifically mention God of His Name anywhere in the book. Yet the providence, protection and watchful eye of God over His covenant people is probably nowhere more obvious in the Bible than in this Megillah. Throughout history, in spite of the suffering and deaths of many Jewish people and martyrs, God has always brought about the deliverance of His people from the genocidal plans of demonic world leaders, from Haman to Hitler - and beyond - God will continue to always be faithful to deliver His people from destruction and annihilation.
At Pesach, as recorded in the book of Exodus, we see how God used Moses to keep His promise to Abraham that He would bring Abraham's descendants out of slavery in a land not their own after 400 years, and would deposit them in the land He promised to give to Abraham and His descendants. The Pesach story which recounts the emancipation of the Hebrew slaves from 400 years of Egyptian bondage through the 10 awful plagues on Egypt, the slaying of the Paschal lamb and the smearing of its blood on the posts and lintels of Jewish homes and the miracles that followed Israel through their wilderness experience, once again attests to the constant and consistent faithfulness of God to deliver His people from every form of slavery.
For those of us who are believers in Yeshua the Messiah, Pesach attests to God's faithfulness to deliver us from the power and bondage of sin, through the shedding of the blood of God's Lamb, Yeshua, and the application of His sacrificial blood to our hearts and lives. Yeshua was introduced publicly to the world at the waters of the Jordan River by John the Immerser with the words: "Look! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world!" When we observe the Passover Seder in a few weeks, we call attention that everything about the Passover is a picture of Yeshua and what He accomplished for us on the cross - from the shank bone of the lamb, to the striped and pierced Matzot - everything at the Seder table and the liturgy of the Seder itself, speaks of Yeshua.
Purim and Passover are eternal pillars of truth attesting to the fact that no matter what life may deal us, no matter what we're going through, no matter what terrible situation we may find ourselves in, God was, is and always will be faithful and true to deliver us from destruction, annihilation and sin because it is His name and reputation that is on the line. Deuteronomy 33:27 says this: "The eternal God [is your] refuge, And underneath [are] the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, 'Destroy!' " Think about it and be encouraged by it!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Lessons From Purim
Today is the biblical, Jewish holiday of Purim. Purim is a celebration of the deliverance of the Jews from the first attempted genocide against them by the wicked prime minister of ancient Persia, Haman. Oddly enough today ancient Persia (Iran) again threatens to wipe out and destroy Israel and the Jews and is led by their current "Haman", Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Purim story is given to us in its entirety in the biblical book of Esther. On this day, in synagogues around the world, the story of Esther is read by the reading of the entire Megillah (story) of Esther. That's right - "the whole Megillah!" For the sake of brevity I will assume that most of you reading this are already familiar with the story and will dispense with recounting the whole thing for you here. One thing that should be pointed out and mentioned because of its striking nature is the fact that the book of Esther is the only book of the Bible that does not directly mention God. The only book of the Bible where you will not find the name of God! Yet perhaps also, as in no other book of the Bible, is the care, providence and protection of God for His people more striking and evident than in this account of the Jews in ancient Persia.
The purpose of this posting is to see what lessons (if any) the Purim story has to teach us. I believe it teaches us some very needful and valuable lessons. The key verses, in my thinking, in this book are verses 13 & 14 of chapter 4. It is Mordecai's response to Esther when she expresses some misgivings of going before her husband, the King of Persia, to intercede for her people - the Jews. Here is Mordecai's response to her:
"Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”
The portion of the response to focus on is the first half of v. 14 - "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place..." So what lessons can we glean from these words and from the overall Purim story?
The first lesson is this, anti-semitism is as old as the Bible itself! Why we think it's curable in our day is beyond me. Biblically God has a very active enemy, Lucifer, who wants nothing more than to destroy the program and purposes of God. As those purposes are directly linked to Israel, to the Jewish people, to the Jewish Messiah Yeshua and those who have attached themselves to the Messiah and His people through faith, we can expect anti-semitism and anti-God attitudes to not only be with us but to increase as we approach the end of time and the return of Yeshua.
The second lesson is the direct outflow of the first, i.e., that as a result of this ancient, prevalent and on-going anti-semitism in many generations there have been, are and will be "Hamans" on the scene who were and are more than happy and willing to destroy the Jewish people. From the first Haman in the book of Esther, to the final and ultimate "Haman" at the end of days, the anti-Messiah (anti-Christ).
The third lesson is this, while millions of Jews have suffered and died at the hands and by the whims of these "Hamans," the annihilation of the Jews was and is impossible because, as Mordecai said, "...relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews..." every time! Why? Because God's gifts and callings of and to the Jewish people are irrevocable! Because God, Who cannot lie, will forever be faithful to His covenants with the Patriarchs, with Israel and through Yeshua. Never forget that the greatest proof of the existence of God is the existence of the Jews, even after centuries of attempts to make us extinct.
Lesson number four. If we through fear and intimidation refuse to aid the Jewish people during their times of distress, God will raise up other helpers, intercessors and deliverers and rescue His people every time. He will likewise judge and destroy those individuals AND THEIR FAMILIES who refused to come to the aid of the Jews and of Israel. That is what makes Mordecai's statement to Esther so ominous. It puts me in mind of a similar vein of thought expressed by the Messiah Yeshua that he said He will confront humanity with on the day of judgement. He said in Matthew 25:31-46 -
“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
So Purim, as you can see, has many valuable and serious lessons to teach us. Let's learn them!
The Purim story is given to us in its entirety in the biblical book of Esther. On this day, in synagogues around the world, the story of Esther is read by the reading of the entire Megillah (story) of Esther. That's right - "the whole Megillah!" For the sake of brevity I will assume that most of you reading this are already familiar with the story and will dispense with recounting the whole thing for you here. One thing that should be pointed out and mentioned because of its striking nature is the fact that the book of Esther is the only book of the Bible that does not directly mention God. The only book of the Bible where you will not find the name of God! Yet perhaps also, as in no other book of the Bible, is the care, providence and protection of God for His people more striking and evident than in this account of the Jews in ancient Persia.
The purpose of this posting is to see what lessons (if any) the Purim story has to teach us. I believe it teaches us some very needful and valuable lessons. The key verses, in my thinking, in this book are verses 13 & 14 of chapter 4. It is Mordecai's response to Esther when she expresses some misgivings of going before her husband, the King of Persia, to intercede for her people - the Jews. Here is Mordecai's response to her:
"Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”
The portion of the response to focus on is the first half of v. 14 - "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place..." So what lessons can we glean from these words and from the overall Purim story?
The first lesson is this, anti-semitism is as old as the Bible itself! Why we think it's curable in our day is beyond me. Biblically God has a very active enemy, Lucifer, who wants nothing more than to destroy the program and purposes of God. As those purposes are directly linked to Israel, to the Jewish people, to the Jewish Messiah Yeshua and those who have attached themselves to the Messiah and His people through faith, we can expect anti-semitism and anti-God attitudes to not only be with us but to increase as we approach the end of time and the return of Yeshua.
The second lesson is the direct outflow of the first, i.e., that as a result of this ancient, prevalent and on-going anti-semitism in many generations there have been, are and will be "Hamans" on the scene who were and are more than happy and willing to destroy the Jewish people. From the first Haman in the book of Esther, to the final and ultimate "Haman" at the end of days, the anti-Messiah (anti-Christ).
The third lesson is this, while millions of Jews have suffered and died at the hands and by the whims of these "Hamans," the annihilation of the Jews was and is impossible because, as Mordecai said, "...relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews..." every time! Why? Because God's gifts and callings of and to the Jewish people are irrevocable! Because God, Who cannot lie, will forever be faithful to His covenants with the Patriarchs, with Israel and through Yeshua. Never forget that the greatest proof of the existence of God is the existence of the Jews, even after centuries of attempts to make us extinct.
Lesson number four. If we through fear and intimidation refuse to aid the Jewish people during their times of distress, God will raise up other helpers, intercessors and deliverers and rescue His people every time. He will likewise judge and destroy those individuals AND THEIR FAMILIES who refused to come to the aid of the Jews and of Israel. That is what makes Mordecai's statement to Esther so ominous. It puts me in mind of a similar vein of thought expressed by the Messiah Yeshua that he said He will confront humanity with on the day of judgement. He said in Matthew 25:31-46 -
“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
So Purim, as you can see, has many valuable and serious lessons to teach us. Let's learn them!
Friday, February 24, 2012
Preserving Unity
When my wife and I arrived in Alaska almost 6 years ago, a main part of the vision of what we wanted to see God do here was to bring unity to the body of Messiah here in the Last Frontier. We do understand, of course, that standing in the way of this unity are centuries of schisms in the body. Schisms that are caused by distrust, pride, lust for power and control, finances, politics, doctrinal differences, prejudices and a host of other maladies in the human condition. While this is a formidable challenge we do understand that overcoming centuries of religious strife and conflict and bringing the body to unity will have to be an act of God. However, at the same time we also recognize another fact, i.e., that we also have a part to play, a responsibility if you will, to cooperate with God in achieving this unity.
Understand please that unity isn't the same thing as uniformity. God is not looking to "clone" us or make the body something homogenous that denies the multifaceted cultures and backgrounds we all come from. It does mean we focus on the things we share in common together as believers and to do what Paul tells us to do in his writings: "Accept one another then as Messiah also accepted us to the glory of God" (Rom. 15:7).
First of all, our rallying point is the Messiah Himself. Yeshua is our focus, our goal, our reason for being. Secondly, we rally around the written Scriptures as the infallible and authoritative Word of God, inspired by Him. We submit out lifestyles to obeying its words because they are the words of the Creator. Thirdly, we fellowship with other believers, who are our brothers and sisters in the Lord as long as they all hold to the foundational truths of God's Word as pertaining to the person of God and how we have been brought into relationship with Him. For the body to attain to God's goal for us which, according to Rabbi Shaul (Paul) in his writings to the congregation of Ephesus, is to come "to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Messiah" (Eph. 4:23), we must make up our minds as individual believers to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and the corporate whole of the Body of Messiah to make this unity a reality.
We are not only called upon to strive for and work toward this goal of unity, but also to preserve it as the Spirit of Almighty God works it out in us, through us and for us. Again from Paul's words to the Ephesians (4:1-3):
"Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
Enough said? Then together let's do it.
.
Understand please that unity isn't the same thing as uniformity. God is not looking to "clone" us or make the body something homogenous that denies the multifaceted cultures and backgrounds we all come from. It does mean we focus on the things we share in common together as believers and to do what Paul tells us to do in his writings: "Accept one another then as Messiah also accepted us to the glory of God" (Rom. 15:7).
First of all, our rallying point is the Messiah Himself. Yeshua is our focus, our goal, our reason for being. Secondly, we rally around the written Scriptures as the infallible and authoritative Word of God, inspired by Him. We submit out lifestyles to obeying its words because they are the words of the Creator. Thirdly, we fellowship with other believers, who are our brothers and sisters in the Lord as long as they all hold to the foundational truths of God's Word as pertaining to the person of God and how we have been brought into relationship with Him. For the body to attain to God's goal for us which, according to Rabbi Shaul (Paul) in his writings to the congregation of Ephesus, is to come "to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Messiah" (Eph. 4:23), we must make up our minds as individual believers to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and the corporate whole of the Body of Messiah to make this unity a reality.
We are not only called upon to strive for and work toward this goal of unity, but also to preserve it as the Spirit of Almighty God works it out in us, through us and for us. Again from Paul's words to the Ephesians (4:1-3):
"Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
Enough said? Then together let's do it.
.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Rethinking God's Grace
As I've been processing the desecration of the Torah by Ralph Messer (as mentioned in my last posting) I found myself asking, "What is responsible for all the irreverence that exists in the Church world today toward things that are sacred?" The answer came to me immediately as a two-fold answer. It's due:
1. To the Church's divorce from the Torah.
2. To the rape of the meaning of the grace of God.
Both of these reasons arise from the influence of the early Church fathers who misinterpeted Paul's statement in Romans 6:14, "...for you are not under law, but under grace." By misinterpreting and misunderstanding that statement, the Church fathers threw the Law (Torah) into the dumpster and twisted the meaning of God's grace. Once you toss out the Law, you become lawless! And the result of this lawlessness is the loss of the fear and awe of God.
To have a correct understanding of what Paul was communicating in that statement we must take a few things into account. First of all the word translated Law/law in the Apostolic writings is translated from the Greek word nomos. Also, the word translated under means "not subject to the power (of)." So in the case of Romans 6:14 Paul is stating that we are "not subject to the power of the law, but are subject to the power of grace." The key to understanding Paul's statement, therefore, is in how we translate nomos. Since nomos, translated "law", is a general term for law, how it is interpreted depends on the context in which it is used. Nomos in certain contexts is a reference to the Torah, but in other contexts it is used of other laws besides the Torah. And in the case of Romans 6:14 nomos is NOT referencing the Torah, but in the context of the passage it is referencing the law of sin. So when Torah observant Paul writes that we are not "under law" in this context, he is speaking about the law of sin, not the Torah! But we are "under grace."
So then we must ask, what does it mean to be "under grace?" Well it does not mean that we are free from the Torah, or from the Law of God, to live any old way we want to. Grace is not license to excuse our stupidity, stubborness and sin. It does mean that as believers we are now free from the law of sin, from being under its power as slaves to it, so that we are now equally free (by grace) to obey God and subject ourselves to the obedience of the Word of God, i.e., the Torah. According to Titus 2:11,12 grace is the power to live free from sin in obedience to God, it is not a carte blanche freedom to continue living like we did before we knew Yeshua. Listen to what Paul tells Titus in those verses, from the New International Version of the Bible:
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It [God's grace] teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly possessions (or lusts), and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age."
It is time to rethink what the grace of God really is and accept the fact that the abuse of its meaning has resulted in the deplorable moral and spiritual condition of the modern day body of the Messiah.
1. To the Church's divorce from the Torah.
2. To the rape of the meaning of the grace of God.
Both of these reasons arise from the influence of the early Church fathers who misinterpeted Paul's statement in Romans 6:14, "...for you are not under law, but under grace." By misinterpreting and misunderstanding that statement, the Church fathers threw the Law (Torah) into the dumpster and twisted the meaning of God's grace. Once you toss out the Law, you become lawless! And the result of this lawlessness is the loss of the fear and awe of God.
To have a correct understanding of what Paul was communicating in that statement we must take a few things into account. First of all the word translated Law/law in the Apostolic writings is translated from the Greek word nomos. Also, the word translated under means "not subject to the power (of)." So in the case of Romans 6:14 Paul is stating that we are "not subject to the power of the law, but are subject to the power of grace." The key to understanding Paul's statement, therefore, is in how we translate nomos. Since nomos, translated "law", is a general term for law, how it is interpreted depends on the context in which it is used. Nomos in certain contexts is a reference to the Torah, but in other contexts it is used of other laws besides the Torah. And in the case of Romans 6:14 nomos is NOT referencing the Torah, but in the context of the passage it is referencing the law of sin. So when Torah observant Paul writes that we are not "under law" in this context, he is speaking about the law of sin, not the Torah! But we are "under grace."
So then we must ask, what does it mean to be "under grace?" Well it does not mean that we are free from the Torah, or from the Law of God, to live any old way we want to. Grace is not license to excuse our stupidity, stubborness and sin. It does mean that as believers we are now free from the law of sin, from being under its power as slaves to it, so that we are now equally free (by grace) to obey God and subject ourselves to the obedience of the Word of God, i.e., the Torah. According to Titus 2:11,12 grace is the power to live free from sin in obedience to God, it is not a carte blanche freedom to continue living like we did before we knew Yeshua. Listen to what Paul tells Titus in those verses, from the New International Version of the Bible:
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It [God's grace] teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly possessions (or lusts), and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age."
It is time to rethink what the grace of God really is and accept the fact that the abuse of its meaning has resulted in the deplorable moral and spiritual condition of the modern day body of the Messiah.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
An Appeal To My Gentile Brothers & Sisters
I've been facilitating a book study on Wednesday nights on the book "The Messianic Church Arising" by Robert Heidler. The main purpose of Mr. Heidler's book is to show the renewed interest of the predominantly Gentile dominated church in learning about and returning to her Jewish roots. This is both commendable and, without a doubt an act of God, as His Spirit is dealing with a large segment of His body that cut themselves off from their roots centuries ago.
In the fourth chapter of the book, entitled: Chapter Four/ What the Church Lost (When We Lost Our Jewish Roots), Mr. Heidler makes the following observations and statements:
"To the Jew, the person of God was treated with great respect. God was not a subject for analysis; He was the object of loving worship. The Jews knew that the puny human mind would never be capable of understanding God. The only appropriate response to Him is to love, serve, and obey Him. To put it another way, the Hebrews approached Scripture, not to understand God, but to learn how to please Him. The Greek mentality [which inundated the Church from the second century on*] deified human intellect above God. They assumed the human mind could ultimately understand God, and if you could understand something you could control it...As the church lost its Hebrew roots, it embraced this intellectual Greek preoccupation to analyze God."
Of course the results of this "Greek preoccupation" resulted in the erroneous and satanic doctrine that the Church had replaced Israel in the mind and plan of God. It its journey back to its roots many in the Church are treating sacred, century old practices and objects of Jewish worship of the Almighty shamefully and, in its zeal, even desecrating objects considered sacred in Judaism under the label of being "Spirit led." A case in point is the recent scandal I posted on my Facebook page the other day of Ralph Messer, who desecrated a Sefer Torah scroll by wrapping it around a person in a Church service and calling the Torah cover a "foreskin." This heinous, irreverent act has been repudiated by the leadership of both the UMJC (Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations) and the MJAA (Messianic Jewish Alliance of America). I would like to share with you the major portion of their mutual refutation of Mr. Messer's actions:
"We join our voices with the wider Jewish community in condemning the ritual orchestrated last Sunday by Ralph Messer at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. Messer is not recognized by any major branch of Messianic Judaism and, under the standards of the UMJC and the MJAA, is not even considered part of our community, let alone a rabbi...
We condemn Messer's flagrant disrespect of the Sefer Torah in this ritual and his misrepresentation of Jewish tradition, an abuse which must stem either from ignorance or great presumption. It is inappropriate and offensive to wrap a person with the sacred scroll, to describe the Torah mantle as "a foreskin," to pronounce a man to be "king" in a ritual context, to employ a tallit in ways completely out of touch with the tradition to which it belongs, and above all, to do all these things, and more, claiming to represent the Jewish community.
"Respect for the Torah is a central value within authentic Messianic Judaism. We assure the rest of the Jewish community that this ceremony would seem as bizarre and offensive within our congregations as it would within yours. An article at AJC.com (the Atlanta Journal-Constitution website), quotes David P. Gushee, a professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University: 'One problem with Messianic Judaism, in which leaders attempt to fuse Jewish and Christian traditions and symbols, is that it can easily stray into profound insensitivity.' While Professor Gushee's characterization of our 'attempt to fuse Jewish and Christian traditions and symbols' is simplistic, his description of the 'one problem' is accurate. Responsible leaders within the Messianic Jewish community share his concern that our traditions be handled with sensitivity and deep respect. By his actions at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Messer demonstrates why he is unworthy to be part of our community and cannot claim to represent us in any way."
The search and desire of our Gentile brethren for their Jewish roots in the Messiah is both commendable and desired. We ourselves have built a unique relationship with Freedom In Christ Church here in Alaska and marvel at the response of the leadership and congregants to the return to Jewish roots (including eliminating the observance of Christmas) over the past two years. This relationship has been built on mutual trust and respect as we see God building us as the One New Man in these last days. Much of the success of this relationship is the result of our sensitivity to each other in not trying to "change each other" and respecting the things we each value within our respective cultures.
I would, therefore, like to encourage other churches and individual Gentile believers in Yeshua, who are interested in exploring their Jewish roots, to likewise remain respectful and sensitive to those roots and the people through whom God brought the Messiah into the world. I would also ask you in this wonderful journey of discovery of your roots to treat objects that have been considered sacred by the people of God for thousands of years with respect and diginity. If you're not sure what the proper treatment, handling and protocol is for wearing a tallit, or blowing a shofar or handling a Sefer Torah, please don't do anything until you've researched it and are engaging in their use accordingly.
*The statement of "inundating the Church" within the quotes from Heidler's book is mine.
In the fourth chapter of the book, entitled: Chapter Four/ What the Church Lost (When We Lost Our Jewish Roots), Mr. Heidler makes the following observations and statements:
"To the Jew, the person of God was treated with great respect. God was not a subject for analysis; He was the object of loving worship. The Jews knew that the puny human mind would never be capable of understanding God. The only appropriate response to Him is to love, serve, and obey Him. To put it another way, the Hebrews approached Scripture, not to understand God, but to learn how to please Him. The Greek mentality [which inundated the Church from the second century on*] deified human intellect above God. They assumed the human mind could ultimately understand God, and if you could understand something you could control it...As the church lost its Hebrew roots, it embraced this intellectual Greek preoccupation to analyze God."
Of course the results of this "Greek preoccupation" resulted in the erroneous and satanic doctrine that the Church had replaced Israel in the mind and plan of God. It its journey back to its roots many in the Church are treating sacred, century old practices and objects of Jewish worship of the Almighty shamefully and, in its zeal, even desecrating objects considered sacred in Judaism under the label of being "Spirit led." A case in point is the recent scandal I posted on my Facebook page the other day of Ralph Messer, who desecrated a Sefer Torah scroll by wrapping it around a person in a Church service and calling the Torah cover a "foreskin." This heinous, irreverent act has been repudiated by the leadership of both the UMJC (Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations) and the MJAA (Messianic Jewish Alliance of America). I would like to share with you the major portion of their mutual refutation of Mr. Messer's actions:
"We join our voices with the wider Jewish community in condemning the ritual orchestrated last Sunday by Ralph Messer at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. Messer is not recognized by any major branch of Messianic Judaism and, under the standards of the UMJC and the MJAA, is not even considered part of our community, let alone a rabbi...
We condemn Messer's flagrant disrespect of the Sefer Torah in this ritual and his misrepresentation of Jewish tradition, an abuse which must stem either from ignorance or great presumption. It is inappropriate and offensive to wrap a person with the sacred scroll, to describe the Torah mantle as "a foreskin," to pronounce a man to be "king" in a ritual context, to employ a tallit in ways completely out of touch with the tradition to which it belongs, and above all, to do all these things, and more, claiming to represent the Jewish community.
"Respect for the Torah is a central value within authentic Messianic Judaism. We assure the rest of the Jewish community that this ceremony would seem as bizarre and offensive within our congregations as it would within yours. An article at AJC.com (the Atlanta Journal-Constitution website), quotes David P. Gushee, a professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University: 'One problem with Messianic Judaism, in which leaders attempt to fuse Jewish and Christian traditions and symbols, is that it can easily stray into profound insensitivity.' While Professor Gushee's characterization of our 'attempt to fuse Jewish and Christian traditions and symbols' is simplistic, his description of the 'one problem' is accurate. Responsible leaders within the Messianic Jewish community share his concern that our traditions be handled with sensitivity and deep respect. By his actions at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Messer demonstrates why he is unworthy to be part of our community and cannot claim to represent us in any way."
The search and desire of our Gentile brethren for their Jewish roots in the Messiah is both commendable and desired. We ourselves have built a unique relationship with Freedom In Christ Church here in Alaska and marvel at the response of the leadership and congregants to the return to Jewish roots (including eliminating the observance of Christmas) over the past two years. This relationship has been built on mutual trust and respect as we see God building us as the One New Man in these last days. Much of the success of this relationship is the result of our sensitivity to each other in not trying to "change each other" and respecting the things we each value within our respective cultures.
I would, therefore, like to encourage other churches and individual Gentile believers in Yeshua, who are interested in exploring their Jewish roots, to likewise remain respectful and sensitive to those roots and the people through whom God brought the Messiah into the world. I would also ask you in this wonderful journey of discovery of your roots to treat objects that have been considered sacred by the people of God for thousands of years with respect and diginity. If you're not sure what the proper treatment, handling and protocol is for wearing a tallit, or blowing a shofar or handling a Sefer Torah, please don't do anything until you've researched it and are engaging in their use accordingly.
*The statement of "inundating the Church" within the quotes from Heidler's book is mine.
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